Toor’s smart lockbox is looking to disrupt the traditional house-hunting process. Initially made for real estate showings, Junior Desinor’s product allows you to safely access a property with a mobile app. He secured a deal with Kevin and Barbara on Shark Tank, which didn’t close. Toor was worth an estimated $500,000 at its peak and is no longer in business.
Junior Desinor’s Background
Junior Desinor was raised by Haitian immigrants in Dallas, Texas. Despite a tough upbringing, he started his first business at 18 years old and purchased his first property not long after. Desinor went to Texas Tech University, where he was president of the real estate club.
In 2008, he got his real estate license and became one of the youngest agents in his home state. He worked at Keller Williams Realty, Inc. for over two years.
Junior founded his own real estate firm in 2011, Level Properties, which is still operational today. With the brokerage, Junior did over $100 million in property sales in 2013.
Establishing Toor
After 15 years in the industry, Desinor recognized the current process was slow and cumbersome. If a potential buyer sees a house for sale, they would need an agent for the keys and a tour. Getting an appointment often takes up a lot of time.
To tackle this problem, the Texas native built a smart lockbox that can secure keys in front of an available property. It comes with an app that brokers can use to allow or deny access to a property.
Toor was established in 2016, targeting established real estate brokerages instead of individual agents. After launching a Kickstarter campaign, they made $100,412 in pre-sales.
Shark Tank Pitch
Toor appeared on season 8 of Shark Tank, asking for $500,000 in return for 10% equity. A huge $5 million valuation for a new company with no sales outside of Kickstarter and a bad valuation is Kevin’s pet peeve!
The founder got Barbara Corcoran to help out with the demonstration. It’s safe to say, Barbara was a big fan of Junior and thought he was a great salesman. On other hand, Chris Sacca believed the product wasn’t unique enough.
Junior kept his composure despite witnessing a fight break out among the Sharks. In the end, Kevin and Barbara teamed up, and agreed to invest $200,000 cash and a $300,000 loan for 10% equity. Barbara and Kevin were betting that Toor would later get acquired by a large real estate firm.
Toor Failed Despite Shark Tank Exposure
Toor had one of the more memorable episodes on Shark Tank. However, after the show aired, the founder chose to pass up on the deal with Kevin and Barbara. Despite pulling out, Junior revealed he remains in contact with Barbara.
Toor is no longer business, the company has gone quiet on social media and its Kickstarter page hasn’t been updated since January 2018. The pre-ordered lockboxes were shipped out in the same year but no new updates were shared.
The product was sold on Toor.Today and Amazon, where it has an average rating of 2 stars from 17 buyers. Currently, the product is out of stock on their website. It appears the company wasn’t able to penetrate the market as the real estate sector is dominated by a handful of large brokerages. Toor was once valued at an estimated $500,000.
According to Sharktankrecap.com, Junior co-founded a CBD business called City Naturals in 2019. He runs the CBD oil business with his wife and they have a store in Dallas.
